692 Hippodamia

Picture of the Day · NASA

Pathfinder on Mars

2026-07-04

On July 4th, 1997, using its own array of fireworks, a parachute, and a cocoon of airbags, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft bounced like a giant beach ball at least 15 times before it came to rest on the surface of Mars at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time. After its then novel airbag-assisted landing sequence was completed, Pathfinder transmitted this color mosaic to mission operators on Earth. In the scene from another world, the Mars Sojourner robot rover is visible in the foreground, crouched on top of the unfolded Pathfinder. About the size of a large house cat, the six-wheeled, solar-powered Sojourner became the first successful Martian rover. Surrounding Pathfinder are deflated airbags and the rock-strewn terrain of the Ares Vallis floodplain. In the distance Martian hills appear against a dusty brownish sky. The Pathfinder lander was subsequently renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station.

via NASA APOD

Key facts

Discovered by

M. Wolf and A. Kopff

Discovery site

Heidelberg Observatory

Discovery date

5 November 1901

Pronunciation

/ ˌ h ɪ p ə d ə ˈ m aɪ ə /

Named after

Hippodamia , ( Greek mythology )

Alternative designations

1901 HD · 1941 HK

Minor planet category

main-belt (outer) · Cybele family

Observation arc

113.83 yr (41575 d)

Aphelion

3.9570 AU (591.96 Gm )

Perihelion

2.8093 AU (420.27 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.3832 AU (506.12 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

6.22 yr (2272.9 d )

Mean anomaly

147.27 °

Mean motion

0° 9 30.204 / day

Inclination

26.080°

Longitude of ascending node

63.487°

Argument of perihelion

54.267°

Earth moid

1.89564 AU (283.584 Gm)

via Wikipedia infobox